


so the princess is... a prince

by jensencanfricklemyfrackle



Category: Marvel
Genre: Knight!Bucky, M/M, Prince!Steve, fairytale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21704671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jensencanfricklemyfrackle/pseuds/jensencanfricklemyfrackle
Summary: James Barnes, a knight, is sent by his king to rescue the fables princess from a castle that is guarded by a ferocious dragon, but the princess is not what the tale mentioned....
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 6
Kudos: 92





	so the princess is... a prince

Prompt: Prince charming and ‘maiden’ locked away in the tower but the ‘maiden’ is really a prince who’s made friends with the dragon guarding him

The trotting of a horse’s hooves filled the air which was already heavy with fog and the smell of burning lava. The horse came into view, trotting up along the gravel path. On its back was a tall figure, dressed in heavy metal armour with a scabbard and sword on his hip and his helmet propped up on his pommel, his face and head bare. He was sweating from the lava pools that lined the path, so his dark, shoulder length hair was slicked back behind his ears, his pale skin flushed and eyes bright as he finally caught sight of the huge castle that was his destination.

“Finally” the brunet breathed out, gently rubbing the sweat slicked neck of his horse, a beautiful but heavily built black stallion, who he named Blondie, a bit of irony that kept him entertained on his long journeys.

“You’ve got this, Blondie, we’re almost there” Bucky said soothingly, smiling tiredly as the stallion let out a soft knicker and got his second wind, trotting just a bit faster up the steep path.

It was another 15 minutes before they got to the large moat that surrounded the castle which was filled with thick, excruciatingly hot lava. Bucky guided Blondie to a stop and groaned softly at the sight.

“Now how the hell am I supposed to get in there” Bucky huffed, glaring up at the castle until Blondie let out a snort and shook out his mane, which caught Bucky’s eye and he let out a victorious laugh when he saw the tiny wooden bridge that was almost hidden behind an outcrop of rock, and that was tethered to the ground by the wall on the inside of the lava moat.

“Oh, thank you Blondie” bucky crooned, scratching between the horse’s ears and leaned down to feed Blondie one of the last of his carrot sticks which he brought specifically for Blondie. The horse huffed contently and crunched on the carrot stick as Bucky guided him to the small wooden bridge.

“Alright Blondie, fancy steps” Bucky said in the horse’s ear, a trick that Bucky had taught him which meant that he had to take light and careful steps. Blondie tossed his head and knickered quietly, a sign that he understood. The horse then started to step forward, taking tentative steps onto the wooden bridge. The bridge itself was old and creaked under the horse’s and bucky’s weight which made Blondie neigh anxiously, but with Bucky’s soft praises and careful guiding touch, they made it to the other side.

“Good boy, Blondie!” Bucky gasped, pumping his fist in victory. The horse knickered happily and reared up slightly, making Bucky laugh and pulled Blondie back under control, all four hooves on the ground.

After a few moments looking around the castle wall, Bucky dismounted Blondie and held the reins firmly in his hand as he led the horse through a small side door that was built into the wall beside the huge drawbridge. Admittedly he had to break it open with a well placed kick to the lock that was slowly decaying with age but he still counted it as a win.

Bucky kept his eyes and ears open as he walked through the main entrance and into the abandoned courtyard, because while there were trees in the four corners of the courtyard and they had obviously just shed some of their leaves, there were orderly piles of leaves which looked like they had been swept, which wasn’t something Bucky was expecting for a castle that was keeping a princess hostage.

Bucky guided Blondie to the side of the courtyard and gave him another order, ‘stay’. Blondie huffed and nodded his head, knowing that he was allowed to move around but not to stray far from that spot. Bucky smiled and gently petted the horse’s snout before slowly walking into the middle of the courtyard, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. He slowly swivelled around on his heel as he looked for the highest tower where the princess would be, just like the legend foretold.

“What am I thinking?” Bucky sighed softly to himself, head dropping. He didn’t even like women, a fact about himself that he had never told anyone. He had denied it for so long but eventually came to terms with it after a small incident where he had kissed one of the groomsboys when he was 16.

Bucky sighed again as he thought about the incident but he froze when he heard a loud noise, somewhere beneath the cobblestones of the courtyard.

*BOOM*

A minute went by before another *BOOM*

The noises got louder and louder by the second which made Bucky tense, his hand tightening on the pommel of his sword as he drew it halfway out of the scabbard. But before he knew it, a dragon as big as tall as three elephants burst through one of the walls that lined the courtyard, spraying stone everywhere in an explosion, prompting Blondie to neigh in panic and bolt to safety while Bucky let out a yell and drew his sword.

Bucky could see the dragon was angry, its roar nearly piercing his eardrums, and he had to jump out of the way as the dragon spat out a ball of fire, stomping one of its clawed feet which made the cobblestone crack, its huge wings twice as long as its body and dotted with holes, presumably from age and living somewhere in the dark under the castle. Its scales were a dark scarlet and its underbelly was a dark red, its eyes a flaming red and full of anger.

“I’m not afraid of you, beast!” Bucky yelled out, brandishing his sword at the beast as he stood his ground. The dragon roared again and stomped towards Bucky, and the brunet was about to attack when a loud, strong voice intervened.

“Stop!”

Bucky’s ears were thrumming with adrenaline and a little bit of fear so he paid no attention to the shout and continued running at the dragon, swinging his sword at the dragon. He expected his blad to bite into the thick dragon scales or maybe even bite into soft flesh if he was lucky, but what he didn’t expect was another sword clanging against his, sending a jolt running down his arm. He gasped and pulled back when he saw that it was actually a man who had blocked his sword, a gorgeous man with silky blond hair and a well-built physique. He was wearing simple peasant clothes but his eyes held a type of fury that Bucky had only seen in the eyes of royalty.

“How dare you!” the blond growled, levelling the tip of his sword at Bucky, the tip clinking against the metal of Bucky’s chestplate. The blond didn’t even move when the dragon let out another roar, his hair ruffling from the hot air issuing from the dragons mouth.

“Sir, I must insist that you leave this place. I have been sent by my king to slay the wicked dragon that guards this castle, and then to rescue the princess that resides in the highest room of the tallest tower”

The blond just snorted and pressed the tip of his blade to the chainmail that protected Bucky’s throat. “There is no princess here, knight. Just me and my dragon, my only friend”

Bucky blinked at the man, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throatas he felt the sharp tip of the stranger’s sword through the chainmail. He stayed quiet for a moment before understanding blossomed in his eyes. “So the princess is really… a prince”

**Author's Note:**

> If people like this fic then I'll write more :)


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